Undocumented could get driver’s licenses

Ken Dixon

Updated 11:27 pm, Thursday, May 23, 2013

HARTFORD -- Despite solid opposition from Republicans in the state House, along with seven Democrats who broke away from party leaders, a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for state driver's licenses seems assured passage in the General Assembly.

Following a 74-55 vote in the House shortly after sunrise Thursday, the bill heads to the Senate, which is expected next week to approve and send it to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for final review.

Sen. Andres Ayala, D-Bridgeport, a chief proponent of the legislation who continued work on the bill after its apparent late-March death in the Transportation Committee, said Wednesday night that it would finally allow people living "in the shadows" to obtain legal licenses.

Ayala said that with the licenses would come more business for insurance companies, a decline in hit-and-run crashes, more registration fees for the state and more local tax revenue for legally registered cars, as well as a sense of relief for those here without legal documentation.

"It gives them an opportunity now to be driving and a chance to become knowledgeable about what our rules of the road are," Ayala said outside the House chamber. "This is a chance for them to do basic functions without having to look behind their backs; being able to go to work and provide for a family."

He estimated that in Bridgeport alone, 10,000 people, "at least," could apply for licenses under the new program.

"Understanding the issue of `documented' and `undocumented,' the fact of the matter is they're here," Ayala said. "Let's find a legal way that's not going to be tied to citizenship or anything like that, to get them on the road and become safe drivers."

After a nearly eight-hour all-nighter in which minority Republicans charged they had been shut out of drafting the bill because of politics, the House voted to allow undocumented immigrants the chance to apply for licenses.

Under the legislation, starting in January 2015, immigrants residing in the state without legal documentation could apply for driver's licenses by showing proof of identity, including foreign passports, and evidence that they have lived in the state for at least 90 days. Utility bills would be adequate proof of residency. Applicants would also be subject to in-state criminal background checks and would have to sign affidavits indicating they are applying for legal status.

The measure, which earlier in the legislative session died in the Transportation Committee, emerged as an amendment on a vaguely related motor vehicle bill. Debate began at 10:10 p.m. Wednesday and the final vote, after two failed Republican amendments, was announced Thursday at 5:48 a.m.

"I'm angry," said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, at the start of the debate. "I wanted to be part of this process."

He acknowledged that the bill does contain some of the suggestions he had made in recent months to the legislation's chief proponent, Rep. Juan R. Candelaria, D-New Haven. But Cafero complained that Republicans were left out of the final drafting process because Democrats want to use the bill as a marketing tool to enlist more immigrants into the Democratic Party.

In particular, Cafero wanted a study of the issue this year and a chance to draft legislation next year.

Rep. David A. Scribner, R-Brookfield, ranking member of the Transportation Committee, said after the vote that the bill is a "missed opportunity" to make all state roads safer. He warned that there is no funding budgeted for the increased workload that may hit the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

"The concept is not wholly void of merit; however, we must address the crucial aspects of implementation, including the massive financial burden it will thrust on the DMV," Scribner said in a statement this morning. "In order to implement a law of this magnitude, the state needs time, funds and personnel resources to accommodate such an undertaking. This bill offers no source of funding for the incredible drain on resources that will undoubtedly affect all aspects of the agency, slowing and impeding its functions across the state."

He said that of the 11 states that have created similar programs, seven have already repealed their laws.

"Connecticut would be the only state on the East Coast to allow such a program, making the state a magnet for illegal immigrants who bring with them a host of increased costs to state government," said Scribner, who offered an amendment to create a task force to study the many issues around the proposal.

Nonpartisan legislative staff estimates that as many as 54,000 undocumented immigrants, many of whom came to the United States with their parents when very young, could take advantage of the law.

"We believe we should deal with this reality now, while those opposed simply want another study," said Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden. "We are talking about people who contribute to our communities and our economy every day. They are our neighbors, our fellow taxpayers and our friends."

The Senate has a 22-14 Democratic majority while Democrats rule the House, 99-52.

Twenty-one lawmakers, one-seventh of the House membership, missed the final vote, including Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, chairman of the Transportation Committee, and his vice chairman, Rep. Steven Mikutel, D-Griswold.

Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, was among those who voted against the bill.